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To couple, or not to couple, that is the question

There seems to be a fundamental difference of opinion between those who would couple their speakers to the floor (e.g., with spikes), and those who would decouple them (e.g., with springs). I’ve gone both ways, but have found that I prefer the latter; I’ve currently got Sorbothane feet attached to my tower speakers, so that they wobble or "float"—much like the Townshend Platforms videos show for that similar, but more expensive, approach. My ears are the final arbiters of my listening experience, so they rule my choices. But my mind likes to have a theoretical explanation to account for my subjective preferences.

That’s where the question comes in. A very knowledgable audiophile friend insists that what I prefer is precisely the opposite of what is best: that ideally, the speaker enclosure should be as rigid and immovable as possible so that the moving cones of the drivers can both most efficiently and most accurately create a sound front free of the inevitable colorations that would come from fighting against a moving cabinet. He says that transients will be muddied by the motion of the cabinet set up by the motion of the speaker cones. And this makes perfect sense to me in terms of my physical intuitions. It’s perhaps analogous to the desirability of having a rigid frame in a high-performance vehicle, which allows the engineers to design the suspension without having to worry too much about the complex interactions with a flexing chassis.

Am I just deluded, then, in preferring a non-rigid interface between speaker and floor? Or does it depend on the kind of floor? (I get that most advice seems to favor decoupling from a suspended wood floor, and coupling to a slab; my floor is hardwood, but not exactly "suspended" as the underflooring structure is very rigid.) Or are there trade offs here, as there usually are in such options: do I gain something (but what, and how?) even as I lose something else (i.e., clean transients, especially in bass tones)?

The ears will win this contest, but I like to have my mind on board if possible. So thanks for any input you may have on this question.

128x128snilf
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,518 posts
 

I purchased a bunch of Townshend pods and bars for under my gear and former speakers. I liked how they made my system sound and found their service to be top notch. In the end I sold them because I found them hard to place and work with.

If your gear is much heavier on one side, then these can be cumbersome to work with and dial in. I had one heck of a time getting the proper combination under my Circle Labs integrated amp and Mojo Audio dac. Ended up with five pods of various ratings to finally “work” under my amp. It was still not quite perfect and one spring was not ideally loaded.

I ended up replacing these Townshend products with Live Vibe Audio Points under my electronics. They were far easier to work with, under electronics, and actually improved the sound in some ways. Articulation from top to bottom was improved and well as overall resolution, speed and imaging.

I am now looking for some footers for under my Fyne F704 speakers. They are much heavier in the front and am considering both Audio Points and Townshend.
Not excited about 150 pound speakers on the sharped tipped Audio Points resting on the matched coupling discs on my hardwood floors. However, based on my past experience with the Townshend Pods and bars, these speakers are sure to be a frustrating set-up experience. I don’t think the Townshend platforms will fit/work under my speaker. 


Both Audio Points and Townshend offer great sounding products. Townshend Sounds a tad more warm and full while the Live Vibe products sound more articulate and resolved. At least this has been my experience. The set up frustrations and challenges were real for me and another factor to consider with these types of products.

Audio Points couple while Townshend decouples as I understand the products. Both products have sonic advantages.

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,518 posts
 

Forgot to mention how the weight and length of your power cord and cabling can also add to the frustration of proper Townshend Pod placement and functioning. My integrated amp has a long and heavy power cord on it that hangs off the back as my amp rests at the very top of my 4 foot tall audio rack. This makes the dialing in process additionally challenging with the Pods

waytoomuchstuff's avatar
waytoomuchstuff
1,157 posts
 

@millercarbon 

I couldn't have said it better myself.

No, really, I couldn't have.  

Thanks for the vote for intellectual humility.  I'm still trying to close the gaps in my knowledge base.  Its a work in progress.

ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 

It's complicated.

ALL components on Sorbothane. IMO, and especially for bottle rockets, all components should be isolated. In an earlier life in previous concrete slab home, components were in one room and speakers on spikes in another. Many good studios have the mains rigidly mounted while other have them compliantly mounted. Gear maybe in a separate room or in a control room alcove trading cable length for vibration control. There's no free lunch.

Current media room floor is 2nd over garage:

Spica TC-50 on shot filled spiked stands and 4 Sorbothane pucks to stands.

LFT8b on sand filled Sound Anchor stands on spikes with damped spike protectors.

Like almost everything HiFi, it's local. Change the program and the perceived improvement may vanish.

mitch2
4,061 posts
 

@grannyring 

I believe you have a SA stand as I do also.  As an inexpensive solution, I use velcro looped around heavy power cords and then around the rack above to help relieve the weight hanging off of the component.  It is not something that can be seen easily, the velcro is easy to adjust as needed, and in my system it serves the purpose.

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